The Garden Route Development Partnership (GRDP), facilitated by the EDP, brings together local municipalities, government and the private sector in the Garden Route District for the collaborative implementation of the Garden Route Growth and Development Strategy and associated Recovery Plan. The EDP provides backbone support for the GRDP and capacitates partners towards effective collaboration for a resilient, sustainable economy. 

The 400-hectare Adam Tas Corridor – also known as the Stellenbosch Corridor –has the potential to integrate much-needed affordable housing, public space, schools and non-motorised transport along a major transport spine. The EDP is convening a partnering process with Stellenbosch Municipality, multiple landowners and other stakeholders to develop a governance framework and partnering arrangements to support the implementation of this corridor. 

South African towns and their surrounding regions face many unique challenges. The Towns Action Network is an action-inspired national learning and support network that connects changemakers to foster local partnerships across sectors to activate the potential and support the regeneration of small– and medium–sized towns. The network is funded by Embassy of Finland’s Fund for Local Cooperation. The EDP works closely with several partners, including Ranyaka, Kagiso Trust, Restaurare/ Citeplan, Karoo Development Foundation, Accountability Lab SA, Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI),South African Local Government Association (SALGA). 

Futurecasting is a strategic approach to envisioning the next 10-15 years that leverages expert insights, data, and analysis to model possible futures. The aim is to help individuals, businesses, and governments navigate uncertainty and build resilience. This online series builds on the successful Futurecasting Cape Town webinar series. Policy makers and government officials, business leaders and entrepreneurs, researchers, development practitioners, and students are invited to this opportunity to contribute to forward-thinking strategies for South Africa’s interconnected future. 

The Partnering Platform is a community of practice and dynamic tool hub dedicated to fostering knowledge sharing, building learning networks and promoting action-based partnering. Our focus is on individuals and organisations keen to forge partnerships and collaborations within the public sector. The Partnering Platform cultivates an environment that nurtures shared objectives, facilitates meaningful connections, provides a space for robust collaboration, and strives to be a beacon of collaboration.

The City of Cape Town’s cross-sectoral Growth Coalitions enable partnerships between the City and private sector across different industries. The EDP convenes the Food and Beverage Sector Growth Coalition Platform as the initial pilot. This coalition promotes structured engagements with the food and beverage industry to promote skills development, job creation and sector development. An additional coalition will be the Partnering for Ease of Doing Business, which will focus on building on the partnering capacity already existing within the City of Cape Town to make it easier for the private sector to work with the City of Cape Town.  

South Africa’s Social Employment Fund was launched in 2021 under the Presidential Employment Stimulus and is administered by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). This fund creates ‘work for the common good’ by optimising partnerships between larger civil society organisations and informal grassroots networks. With the IDC and DG Murray Trust, the EDP convenes the Social Employment Network, a learning and support network that supports the fund’s implementing partners by sharing information, documenting learnings and addressing challenges. This network also shares learnings with government to improve the management of the fund and future fund iterations.